# March of Kazros - Legends of Nisdharil, Chapter I



## Zeph (Nov 7, 2008)

Click here for the OOC thread. You must join there to roleplay here.

As a note to all players - To begin, your character will most probably be undergoing usual everyday activities, so don't worry about trying to advance the plot until it's needed.

To all Goblin-players - it should be obvious what you should be doing after reading the below.

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The sun was setting, slow and bright, on Fort Kazros. Sinister Hak was standing, waiting, in a large, circular room in the fort's central tower. He paced left and right, his malicious mind in deep thought as he approached the huge window on the room's north side. He looked out, down the slopes of Mount Gjashpiik, and observed the seemingly endless crowds of Goblin soldiers, being arranged - and, in some cases, punished - in perfect ranks by members of the Sinister Guard, his personally-chosen favourites, his elite fighters. He watched as the soldiers - or pawns, as he liked to call them - lined up in units, serrated scimitars in one hand, and triple-spiked pikestaffs in the other.

He lowered his vision and saw his second-in-command, the head of the Sinister Guard, Brandhyr, watching much like Hak was from the north wall of the Fort, occasionally screaming down orders to certain soldiers. Hak saw, with anger, a slacker, leaning lazily against his pike, who Brandhyr had not yet noticed. He wished he could smite the slacker, destroy it, bring down fire and a thousand bolts of lightning upon it - but he could not, for magic was the only power he did not posses, his only weakness... Brandhyr would deal with it soon, anyway...

Hak turned away and crossed the room to the other window. Now he could see down the south slopes of Gjashpiik, all the way down to the ocean, tainted black by the powers of Fort Kazros. On these slopes were the Sorcerers, around a thousand of them, all shrouded completely in black hooded robes, arranged in order with no slackers, each one of them slowly chanting, swaying, twisting and waving their arms in perfect unison, practicing spells under the lead of the Seven Sinister Sorcerers who, like Brandhyr had been, were standing upon the wall and looking down of them. The Seven were leading the Spellcasting, executing the movements and incantations with such perfect timing it was as if they were telepathically connected - which they probably were. Oh, how he envied the sorcerers -

No. He did not envy anyone. He was Sinister Hak, leader and commander of the Goblins of Gjashdil. Nothing made him envious, nothing.

He sighed, and heard footsteps coming from the spiral staircase that lead downstairs.

"Your Sinisterness," came a gruff voice. He turned and saw a head wearing a black-plumed helmet looking at him from the floor.

"Brandhyr. What is it?"

"Well, my lord, the army is almost ready to advance."

"Good. What is the plan?"

Brandhyr climbed up the last few steps and stooped into the room. Hak scowled. Brandhyr was a very big goblin, and was at least a head taller than the Sinister. Brandhyr unrolled a dark scroll in his hand, and showed Hak a map of all of Nisdharil.

"First we will march to Gjashmraw," said Brandhyr, pointing to the peninsula at the south-west of Gjashdil, directly west of the Fort. "From there, we will sail - we have prepared many large galleons to take the soldiers, but some may have to resort to swimming..." he smirked slightly. "Anyway, we will sail to the North-West side of Banari, and from there it should be obvious. We will send around quarter of units across the Monari, too."

"Excellent. When shall we leave?"

Brandhyr looked at the sunset, which was almost over.

"In about ten minutes."


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## PichuK (Nov 7, 2008)

Salty wind lightly buffeted Kerserth's breast and wings as she flew over the great hills of Modari. Coastal human villages dotted the land under her, but she didn't care about them. She scanned the land below her, looking for anything of interest, or anything that could be. 
She found this in a small boy that was looking up at her, a gaze of awe on his face.

She changed the flow of the wind ever so slightly, tussling the boy's hair and blowing his hat off his head. He looked down angrily, chasing it. 
An item of worth? 
She promptly blew the hat off the edge of the shore, throwing it into the sea. A wild caw escaped her beak. The boy scrunched his face, and began to cry. 

_Hahaha,_ though Kerserth, _He wants it back. Too bad._
She took a moment to wonder how long she had been flying. Week? Fortnight? Probably something like that, as she was above the northeastern coast and she had started from the south.
_This body probably needs rest. Annoying._
While she generally didn't /need/ rest or food, it was generally a better idea to keep any body she was using at least slightly healthy, in case she was attacked. A body about to rot or die would force her out of it, putting her back to a state of raw, unfettered magic. Though this wasn't a /bad/ thing, it would leave her prone to any mages attempting to use her power, which she hated. 

There were probably spirits out there stronger than her that didn't need to abide by this rule, but that didn't matter to her. She did, and it was her problem.

She began a dive, falling at a great speed, flaring her tail and opening her wings out wide  at the last moment. Naturally, she controlled the wind for a perfect landing on a large branch of a tree, giving her a moment to rest.


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## Elfin (Nov 7, 2008)

Acacia surveyed her work happily. Dozens of different colors of flowered were growing around the human village. She thought it looked very pretty and hoped the humans would agree. More importantly, some of the plants she had created could be used as medicine for colds and the like. She called "Bye!" and left, returning to the forest. She climbed easily to the top of a tree and looked around at the different squirrels and birds, eating an apple from the tree. She didn't _need_ to eat, but it was something to do, at least.


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 7, 2008)

Kojol was floating through the woods, as if there wasn't a care in the world.

How long, he wondrered, had he been exploring this land? All he could remember was waking up at the forest's edge, and the only thing he felt was a nesscesity to never let go of his staff- why, he was unsure. He guessed that there was someone, somewehre who could give him the answers he needed, so it was because of that that he set out into this unknown forest...

.. and now he was hopelessly lost.


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## shadow_lugia (Nov 7, 2008)

Moss, meanwhile, was assorting her pile of various gems, a pasttime she much enjoyed. She angled them all so that their best parts shined in the dying sun.
As she picked up a particularly interesting piece of coal she had once found, with silver hairs winding around it, her stomach grumbled. _I'm hungry._
She poked her head out of the cave and sniffed. To her disappointment, no edible meal was nearby. _I suppose I'll have to hunt,_ she decided.
She launched herself into the air, her green scales shimmering in the sunset.


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 7, 2008)

[REMINDER]Mark is Human, Trox is Goblin.

Mark was walking down a dirt path that was overun by weeds. On a sudden whim, he called up the force, the energy, the _Magic_ all around him, in the air, in the water, and even in himself. With a little mental guidance, the Magic flowed from his fingers and into a patch of ugly weeds. A sudden metamorphosis overtook the plants, their ugly buds unfurling into wonderful leaves and breathtaking flowers. A little overflow, a testament to his informal training, pooled around a drooping sapling, which perked up a little at the energy. Mark smiled at the sight, until the little tree exploded, sending a branch deep into the ground. He picked up the branch, and decided to keep it. With an idea forming in his head, Mark walked off towards his modest home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trox was indignant. He, the most wonderful Goblin ever hatched, recruited as a footsoldier! The very thought of it made him feel like wretching. He slumped against the pike he had been issued, scowling.


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## Storm Earth and Fire (Nov 7, 2008)

Arjan laid down in the pleasant field. He sat up and sighed a bit, then spotted another human strolling down the path that lead through this particular plain. A patch of weeds near the young man's feet suddenly sprang forth and transformed into a group of lovely flowers. A little sapling nearby suddenly exploded. The man gathered something, a stick, then walked off. Magic wasn't something Arjan practiced, but he respected it's might nonetheless. He suddenly thought about Mideran again. _Maybe I should return sometime._


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 8, 2008)

Phantom swirled about in the light. It was the sun, its very presence, that drew him upward. He never wanted his feathers to be hidden from its warmth. The golden substance soaked his fiery plumage in heat, and he whirled around, doing flips happily about. His round, broad wings easily kept him aloft, and the downy feathers on his chest comfortably concealed the sensitive skin underneath. His sharp, hooked beak seemed to slice the very air, but that would cause a nuclear explosion.


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## Darksong (Nov 8, 2008)

Firesong flared her wings, waking to the sunset. She had taken a nap that day, and just now had awoken. Maybe now would be a good time for a... flight in the night...

Immediately, she took off into the sky, gazing at the land below her. Her fire-cloaked wings flickered against the night's mural that stretched across the space above the planet. She could see many other creatures below, and wondered what they thought of her.

It felt good for Firesong to flap her wings again, and she sang a few notes. Soon, she broke out into song, singing an aria that she had made herself. It started low, and slowly got higher, until her lungs almost burst, and she sang the final, low note, and landed on the ground, pecking at the grass. Oddly... it tasted good. She wasn't sure about bugs, but maybe, she would try some...


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## Leviathan (Nov 8, 2008)

Cryptica said:


> His sharp, hooked beak seemed to slice the very air, but that would cause a nuclear explosion.


((It doesn't...really work that way, but whatever.))


((ZC, I'm letting you know right now that due to NaNo my posting will be very limited over the duration of this month, especially during school days when I have significantly less free time. And even then, though I will try my best to post as frequently as possible, my writing here will likely be somewhat lacking in quality. If nothing else, however, I guarantee I will get something up tomorrow.))


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## Zeph (Nov 8, 2008)

((Alright, Leviathan, thanks for letting me know.))

Ξ​
As Brandhyr descended the staircase through the tower, Hak looked out of the window again. The slacker still had not been dealt with. He glared down at the vermin, at the cocky scowl on its face, and watched with glee as Brandhyr swooped across the rocky plains towards it.

"You," Brandhyr growled, his voice full of rage, grabbing the slacker by the neck and lifting it into the air. "What is your name?"

Without waiting for an answer, Brandhyr cruelly shook the goblin, tightening his grip on its neck. "How _dare_ you? How dare you even _contemplate_ that? You're not here to just lounge around, you know!"

He spat in the soldier's face and threw it whole to the ground.

Ξ​
Meanwhile, at the summit of Banari, in the Crowning Fortress of Humans, King Leion gazed out across the ocean from one of the tall, stained-glass windows in his Throne Room. If he squinted, he could see Gjashdil poked over the horizon, and Fort Kazros's tower, too. He had heard certain... rumours, concerning strange activities at Kazros. He'd always been suspicious of the Goblins, from their nature to how they named their locations - for example, 'Kazros' came from the Grey Nisdhata 'Kad Sros', meaning 'Dark Place' - and if these rumours were anything to go by...

He sighed, and moved to another window, looking at the opposite horizon towards Monari. He would rather his castle was somewhere there, maybe on a lush green hill, or in a forest, but no, his ancestors had decided it more appropriate to have it on top of a mountain. The main thing that made him feel so uncomfortable was how close the Crown was to Gjashdil.


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 8, 2008)

Mark arrived at the humble cottage that he lived in and sat on a log in front of the house. He pulled out a knife, not his favorite blue-silver dagger, but an iron carving knife, and began to chip the bark off of the stick he had taken. Once all of the bark had been shucked off into the grass, Mark shaped the head into a rough likeness of an owl, its wooden ears perked up, its eyes large and wise. He then started a small fire, and hardened the staff over the flames. After dousing the flames, Mark wiped off the soot and ash from his new staff.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trox stumbled up, gasping for air. His windpipe was hurt badly, and his arm was scraped. Out of sheer necessity, but absolutely no respect, Trox stood up straight, trying not to show his anger. He had been attacked because he was better than any of them! He just barely prevented himself from scowling again. He had been taken by surprise, that was all! Surely no force in the universe could defeat him in a fair fight...


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 8, 2008)

Kojol looked around. The path ahead of him split into three directions.

_Two of them no doubt will get me in an even worse position, and one might have a chance of getting me somewhere that isn't here._

He decided to go with the middle path. Continuing to float, he reached a clearing where a dirt path stretched ff into the distance. He saw something at the end- a village.


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## allitersonance (Nov 8, 2008)

Fassar strolled on his ocean, smiling down fondly at his fish swimming below his feet. He had been wandering for days now, ever since that pesky elven girl had found the village he'd been residing in. True, he could have simply transformed from his elven form, but he didn't want to. Elves were better-looking than the other forms he could take. If he wasn't going to change, then, it was more prudent to leave.

And so he had, disappearing under the cover of the night.

Now, though, land was within sight, as was a settlement that could probably be useful to him. As he stared a head, he caught sight of something floating on the water. He approached it and picked it up.

...a hat?

With a small chuckle, he put it on his head and kept walking.

There had been rumours of a large fleet of ships, in the village he had been practically chased out of. He honestly didn't care what the fleet wanted, but he planned to see if they performed a sacrifice to appease him (or any gods they worshipped; it came to the same thing). If not, he'd have no choice but to make them regret it, pounding at their ships with massive waves, but if they did, he'd leave them be. If the sacrifice was pleasing enough, he'd even help them, perhaps, calming any storms and allowing them to drink from his ocean, if they knew he'd purify it.


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## Zeph (Nov 8, 2008)

Hak smirked as the slacker was punished. He turned on the spot and crossed the room yet again, this time however going down the tightly-spiraling stairs to his Throne Room.

The walls were made of dark granite, inlaid with veins of shimmering obsidian, and the floor was the same, with glimmering concentric circles of the obsidian, the smallest of which encompassed the pedestal upon which his throne, made of iron, rubies and yet more obsidian, was standing. But he did not head for the throne, instead throwing open a set of doors at the other end of the room and stepping out onto the south balcony.

From here he had a closer view of the Sorcerers, and was mere metres above the Seven, with their leader, Shfreik, directly below and slightly in front of him.

"Shfreik," Hak called down, interrupting the Spellcasting. The head Sorcerer faltered in his movements, and by effect so did every other Goblin, each one of them looking up at Hak just as Shfreik did. The thousand or so Goblins before him bowed in unison, lowering and straightening up at exactly the same speed.

"Sinister," they all muttered in such similar tones it sounded as if there was only one voice.

"Shfreik, we are ready. If you are - and I expect you to be - I want you all in front of the Fort, immediately, ready to leave."

Without waiting for a reply, Hak span round and went back inside, allowing the doors to slam loudly behind him.


After a few minutes, every last Goblin - save the women and children, who were not permitted in the army - was assembled, ready to leave, in front of the gates.

Hak, with Brandhyr on one side and Shfreik on the other, was observing them all from the north wall. There were no slackers now.

Shfreik intoned two words, and Hak felt a tingling feeling in his throat. With his voice magically boosted, he spoke to the army.

"Goblins of Gjashdil," he boomed, red eyes glinting through the early night.

"I thank you all for volunteering to aid in our efforts," he continued, although there had been no volunteering - every male Goblin was destined to serve Hak in the army, and execution was the only other choice.

"As you know, we are launching an attack upon the Elves as revenge for wrongly outcasting us, all those centuries ago, and angering the great Frawesros, the almighty power that runs in the superior blood of Goblins.

"Each and every one of you shall take part in the attack. Any cowards are to be killed without second thought.

"Our fleet awaits us as Gjashmraw. That is all. Now go."

No-one moved. Then Brandhyr spoke.

"_What are you waiting for?_" he screamed. "_Quick MARCH!_"

Brandhyr ran down a narrow staircase to the ground so he could lead the army, and Hak looked at Shfreik. "Teleport us to the boats," the Sinister ordered, and Shfreik nodded, before muttering more magical words. Hak was overcome by a weird, pulsing, warm sensation, and everything around him faded to complete whiteness. When the area around him reformed, he could hear and smell the ocean, and he turned on the spot, seeing around fifty huge galleons docked here, the sail of each one emblazoned with the emblem of Kazros - a dark tower upon a red circle, all surrounded by a black wreath of spikes.


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## shadow_lugia (Nov 8, 2008)

From her aerial view, Moss saw a peculiar sight. A cluster of gray-green moved on the edge of another island. She quickly ran through her mind.
_That's... um... Gjashdil? And that's where the Goblins live, right? Yeah, I think so..._
She suddenly became interested; she'd never seen Goblins before. In her opinion, they looked ugly, but that wouldn't matter. She had always intended to go to Gjashdil and see what kind of rocks they had there.
_Wait,_ she thought. _If I tried to go there now, they'd probably shoot me out of the sky. I guess I'll have to wait until another day._
She sighed and shifted her attention to the rocky terrain below. She almost always hunted in the mountains; she didn't much enjoy the deserts. They were dull and sandy, hot, and the food there wasn't at all to her taste.

(Err... Do mountain goats live on the mountains here?)


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## PichuK (Nov 8, 2008)

Kerserth stared out over the sea. Night was fast approaching, and she loved the many colors that it brung. 

She noticed an odd sight on the very far line of the horizon, a clump of black contrasting against the sunset, moving ever so slightly from Gjashdil.
"Huh..." she muttered, ready to investigate. 
She opened her wings, changed the direction of the wind, and took off. She didn't stick around for long, wanting only a glimpse of what was on the horizon.

As she got closer, the black shapes took the form of ships. Many armed ships. Enough ships to conquer a country, and easily enough ships to shoot a lone phoenix down. Kerserth turned immediately, going back to her branch. 
While doing so, she saw what looked like an elf taking a stroll across the water, as f it were a solid path. He wasn't a mage, she decided, as he was wearing the hat that she had thrown into the sea only a few moments ago.


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## Zeph (Nov 8, 2008)

((Yes, shadow_lugia. Most real animals do.))


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## Blaziking the God General (Nov 8, 2008)

_I think I _see_ land far ahead in the distance_, Thrax said telepathically. Jinijin breathed a sigh of relief. He and Thrax had been travelling for days, lost in the ocean in but a small canoe. They had almost run out of food. At last they could land.

"Do you know exactly where we are going to land?" Jinijin shouted out to Thrax.

_You don't need to yell, you know, I'm not that far away_, Thrax said, irritated. _And I don't know where we're going to land. Probably somewhere in Monari or Banari._

Jinijin groaned. His hometown in Monari was a seaport town. If they landed there, it was quite likely that someone would recognize him and he would have to see his family again. That definitely wouldn't be as joyful as one would think. Thrax had flown back and perched on the edge of the boat.

_I know you don't want to see your family_, Thrax said, _but who knows? They could be dead for all you know!_ Jinijin shot a glare at him. _What? I thought you didn't want to see your family?_

"Yes," Jinijin said, "but I don't want them to be dead!"

_You elves and humans can be so odd sometimes,_ Thrax said. _I just don't understand it. It's much easier to not have a family to manage._

"Oh brag about it why don't you," Jinijin snapped back.

_I will, thank you_, Thrax answered.


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## Leviathan (Nov 8, 2008)

The sulfurous wind howled across the barren slopes of Banari, unhindered by any form of housing or construction. Beneath an overhang of rock, however, there is a humble collection of belongings, mostly stacks of volumes upon volumes of books piled at the side of the cave, along with a mirror and a cupboard full of various artifacts and knick-knacks. Suddenly, blue light began to emit from the back of the makeshift dwelling, and when it finally past a dark-skinned elf standing there with a particularly heavy-looking book in his hands.

"And the angelic chorus did speak to him, our lord and savior, of the hardships of man and the sins among...blah, blah, blah, these human preachers are all full of the same tripe."

Kelras tossed the book into the least orderly of his book collections, the junk pile. "What happened to the old days, when pixie sages still inscribed their lore on spectral manifestations in the fabric of reality itself?" He walked over to where the cupboard was, then reached in and pulled out a large bag. "At least back then I didn't need to bother with this obsolete physical form." He turned to face the pile on the floor, before realizing just how much was there - 73 books of varying size, to be exact. It would take so much time and effort to gather them all into one space; best to shorten that a bit. Kelras idly snapped his fingers, and the books disappeared with a flash of blue before reappearing in the now-full sack. "But it's not like those works were any less boring either..." And he disappeared.


Mere seconds and several hundred miles later, the elf materialized somewhere in the snowy wastes of Vurtox. He tossed the bag of books into the snow carelessly; he wondered for a moment where all the others were, although those thoughts were fleeting in the quick pace of Kelras's mind. He vanished again almost immediately, leaving the question to be answered by whoever came upon this area.

It just so happened that such a situation would be happening quite quickly. A monstrously large figure walked out of the raging blizzard, covered completely in a coat made of rags stitched together. The hood turned to each side with the head within, as if the creature was checking warily for anyone who might be watching. It snatched the bag with a hand that emerged from the sleeve before returning the way it came.

The figure trudged through the snow without any signs of fatigue, until the sound of deep, guttural voices could be heard amid the freezing storm, and at last a large metal structure could be seen protruding out of the icy ground. Now inside and out of the cold, Jinzen took his cloak off and tossed it into the corner. The forge had been left aflame while he was gone, and he huddled close to the fire for warmth while emptying the bag onto the dirt floor. He smiled a little at the sight of the many tomes, revealing his sharp and painfully yellow teeth. He lifted one up and squinted hard at the title; he didn't know what it said, but he could at least to pretend to understand. After that massive weapons order the goblins had demanded of all the finest troll smiths, he had plenty of free time to make an attempt to learn from his collection. Now if only he could actually make some degree of progress in his studies...

((I'm soooo behind. D: ))


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## Nope (Nov 8, 2008)

_Damn it. I'm too old for this. I would've been home reading a good book if I got to choose, but no. Of course we were going to start a war against the elves. Humph. Stupid law, that all male Goblins have to serve the Sinister in war._ Rugurn thought grumpily. All the bowing made his back ache, and so he put a healing spell on it. He had to use that spell each day, his back hurt that much._ Damn aging. I wish I was younger, then I might've looked forward to this war. I guess I'll have to stay out of reach for the elves and kill them from afar._

"_What are you waiting for?_" Sinister Hak screamed, interupting Rugurn's thoughts, "_Quick MARCH!_"

_What? Walk? Akh. my body ain't what it used to be._ That was Rugurn, complaining about everything. _Aren't we going to teleport? Or float, at least cast a spell on my legs so that they wouldn't feel tireness, or just make them walk on their own, huh? Pfft. Walking is for losers._

The Goblin soldiers began marching, but the Sorcerers were ordered before the battle that they could teleport to the gallions. Rugurn hadn't really been attentive at that time, so he was slightly confused when all the Goblin Spellcasters around him teleported all at once. He teleported right after them.

His body felt tickly. A feeling that he had hated all his life. _Tickling. Useless feeling, that's what it is. Pain isn't, though, giving pain to enemies, that's a pleasure._ Then it all turned white. Rugurn was already half-blind on his left eye, and blind on his right, so it didn't affect him much.

And then he was with the ships. Rugurn couldn't see the Galleons very clear, nor the ocean, but he used his other senses, smell and hearing. The other Sorcerers glanced half a second at him for coming too late, but soon returned to original positure, and Rugurn copied it.

((I'm sorry if that was Godmodding, but, well, Goblins who can use magic, would mostly choose teleporting before walking, right? If it was godmodding, and not supposed to happen, ignore the last three paragraphs and think of this as my continued RPG post, 'kay ;3))

The Goblin soldiers began marching towards the ocean, and the Sorcerers quickly followed in a normal pace. Rugurn hated walking. _I would rather teleport. Easier, faster and healthier for a grumpy old poop like me._ He humphed, but stayed quiet the rest of the walk.


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## Evolutionary (Nov 8, 2008)

Goldenflame flew over the land of Kazros and saw many Goblins marching to a place unknown to this Phoenix. Goldenflame also saw some Elves as well. She wondered what they were doing so decided to follow them in the sky.

Note: I made it!


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 9, 2008)

Phantom looked down, and came across another Phoenix. It was Firesong. He did a barrel roll downward like a crashing plane, and flitted about in circles around her.

"Good day!"


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## Darksong (Nov 9, 2008)

Firesong saw someone approaching, and instantly panic. She had a clear lack of social skills. Oh, what was she to do now...

Randomly, she wheeled in the air and shook her head, confused. Meanwhile, she flapped her wings excitedly, slowly soaring upwards. Then, she began to speed towards the ground, and caught herself again.

"Uh... hi?" she said shyly, wobbling slightly. "I eat grass..."

That was all she could say.


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 9, 2008)

Phantom tilted his head in mid flight, but did nothing else.

"Enjoy the sunshine," he crooned, turning and lifting higher into the sky.


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## Darksong (Nov 9, 2008)

"Where are you going?" Firesong asked, tilting her own head with curiosity. She swooped back up towards Phantom.

((Cryptica, would it be all right for Firesong to somehow make friends with Phantom?))


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 9, 2008)

((Wynaut? Sure.))

Phantom looked back. "Nowhere in particular."


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## Darksong (Nov 9, 2008)

"Uh... I eat grass..." Firesong said again, truly stumped. "Firesong's my name, and who are you?" She asked unconfidently, trying to hide her face in her wings. But she had to keep flying, and wasn't planning to crash-land anytime soon. The question was, why was this male here? Did he come because of her song?


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 9, 2008)

"Why would eating grass make you a bad phoenix?" Phantom asked. "Anyway, my name's Phantom. I prefer Phantom of the Flames, but that's my own imaginary name."


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## Darksong (Nov 9, 2008)

"I-I don't know what other phoenixes eat," Firesong stammered, slowly flapping her wings in midair. "I was just wondering... if it was strange to you."


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 9, 2008)

"Not at all," said Phantom. "Creatures eat what they can digest properly. It's the way of nature. As for me, my diet is the one of the owl's."


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## Darksong (Nov 9, 2008)

Firesong smiled, more confident now. Maybe this was just him... perhaps there were more strict phoenixes, far off. But he was good enough company for now.

She drifted down to the grass, where she roosted and plucked a few blades.


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 9, 2008)

Phantom watched Firesong land. His wings were getting a bit tired, so he did the same, swooping down and stopping on the grass. He sighed and relaxed himself, digging his talons into the ground to avoid falling over. He let the sun's light and warmth be absorbed into his flame-colored plumage.


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## Darksong (Nov 9, 2008)

Firesong spread her wings once more, but did not land. She fell over so she looked flat, and stared intently at the land straight ahead of her, unblinking. She was very tired...


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## Zeph (Nov 9, 2008)

((Bakuphoon, that's fine. But it was Brandhyr that ordered the army to start moving, not Hak.))

Hak emerged onto the deck of his personal Galleon, _The Sea-Vulture_. It was a tad smaller than the others, but no-one else would be boarding it except the ship's crew, so he has all the ship's luxuries to himself - but for now, he would stay up here to watch the progress of the fleet.

He watched all the pawns and sorcerers boarding the other ships, and grinned maliciously. Even though they were, of course, far inferior to him, he loved watching them, a mighty strength in numbers, ready to serve Hak to their deaths.

When all the soldiers and sorcerers were on board, there was a moment of utter silence - even the ocean seemed to quieten for a second. Then the ropes anchoring the galleons to land were cut, and with an almighty blast of wind (Magically created by Shfreik), the ships set off towards the distant Banari.

Ξ​
Wisest One Hatigoi tore his large, electric blue eyes away from the magical projection screen. What he had seen was... troubling, to say the least, but didn't really affect him very much - after all, why should the petty quarrels between Goblins and Elves concern him?

He looked back at the floating projection, and saw again the fifty or so huge ships cutting through the ocean like knives through butter, and at the front a smaller ship, the evil face of Sinister Hak grinning maliciously from the deck.

"Should we warn the Elves?" he asked the empty room.

"_Trust your own judgment, Wisest One,_" the room replied.

"My judgment says to ignore it, but for some reason I find it hard to just let the Elves be brutally slaughtered. I've seen what the Goblins can do, and frankly it's not very nice."

"_Then warn them,_" the room said calmly.

"I suppose I will," he sighed, and opened his mouth and began to make an 'Aaaa' noise, simultaneously casting a spell over his voice.

Ξ​
At the same time, High Elder Draxysa of the Elves was experiencing a strange feeling in his ears. A warm tingling was filling them, and very suddenly he heard, as clearly as if someone was standing next to him and speaking into his ear, a voice, clearly distinguishable as that of a Pixie.

"Avuh, Duraxysa," the voice said. It sounded like Ancient Nisdhata.

"...Sorry?" the Elf replied.

"Aaah." the voice cleared its throat, and Draxysa felt another tingling in his ears. A moment later, the voice spoke again. "Sorry about that, I forgot to change my voice to Old Nisdhata."

"...Forgive me, but who is this?" Draxysa asked.

"I believe we've met before. Wisest One Hatigoi of the Pixies."

"Ah. Of course. And, um, what can I do for you?"

"It's not what you can do for me, rather what I can do for you. You see, there is... how can I put this?"

"Go on..."

"Okay. There's a large fleet of Goblin ships approaching you, intent on destroying you and your people."

"_What?_"

"That is all. Thank you, Draxysa."

And the voice disappeared.

"Great Gods in Yuldamita..."

Draxysa bit his lower lip. He was trying to stay calm, but that was hardly a feasible idea. He touched two fingers to the white gemstone in his crown, and, trying to keep his voice level, spoke.

"Elves of Monari, Banari and the further Elven settlements, I have received grievous news. We will very soon be under attack by Hak and his Goblins. I ask you all to arm yourselves, fortify your homes and stick together in groups. I'd also like the army to assemble as soon as possible on the east coast of Banari, ready to meet the Goblins."

Every Elf in Nisdharil would wear a gemstone at all times, somewhere on their body. Right now, the gem of every elf would begin to glow, and to hear Draxysa's message they would merely have to hold their fingers to the gem. He hoped they all would as soon as possible...


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## allitersonance (Nov 9, 2008)

As Fassar wasn't a real elf and didn't carry such a gemstone, he didn't hear the message - but it was hardly necessary anyway, as he saw the fleet launch. The ships themselves were massive, and the size of the fleet nearly impressed him, too. But that hardly mattered. They hadn't made a sacrifice of any sort.

Nobody swimming that he could just take as a sacrifice, either.

Fassar smiled serenely.

Well, he hadn't been able to meet them at launch or just before, but he could still demand a sacrifice.

Standing fearlessly before the fleet, he mentally reached out toward the water, and found it willing - as always. He _was_ the water, after all; he was the water of all of Nisdharil. And he followed his own will, always. Unless he didn't want to.

Oh, but he could wait for them to get farther from shore... yes, that sounded like a good idea. If they refused to sacrifice anything, anyway. There were a variety of sacrifices they could make (most involving death of one of their own, preferably by drowning), and he didn't care which.

It was just a sign of respect for the ocean, after all.

Fassar raised a hand, continuing to walk forward. The water before the fleet, and under the first few ships, stirred ominously, warning them of his presence. It would be difficult to project his voice toward them in this form, so to make his demands he'd have to actually get on one of their ships.

Though it wouldn't be too hard to figure out, he'd think. Drown, perhaps, one of their members per ship should do it, if they wanted the extra help of a calm journey throughout, but just tossing a few of their collective number overboard would mean he'd just leave them be. Most seaside communities of any size knew to make sacrifices, because he personally visited them quite often. If somehow they didn't, well, he'd just have to teach them, right?


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## Zeph (Nov 9, 2008)

"Sinister Hak,"

Hak turned to find himself face-to-face with a member of the ship's crew.

"What is it," he snapped, scowling at the young Goblin.

"From what we can observe, the waters are getting rather... choppy around the fleet, but nowhere else."

"And?"

"We suspect a Spirit is threatening us-"

"Preposterous. Spirits don't exist, you fool!"

"Sinister Hak, I-"

"_Silence!_ How _dare_ you interrupt me, boy?"

"I - please accept my deepest apologies, your Sinisterness -"

"Oh, yes, you should be sorry, fool."

And with that he grabbed the Goblin by the neck and slammed it down onto the ship's railing.

"Great Frawesros, accept this child as a sacrifice, and give me good fortune for this journey," he whispered through gritted teeth, and let go of the sailor's neck, pushing its legs upwards so that it tumbled overboard, barely alive after Hak's strangling grasp.


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 9, 2008)

Mark was out looking for food. Of course, he could always just go to the nearby town and buy food, and this is what he planned to do if he didn't find anything, but he enjoyed foraging anyway. He spotted a tree with a several orange, round fruits with a couple of red splotches. He cut down many of the fruits using Magic, and put all but one in his pack. He peeled away some of the skin and took a bite. It was sweet and ripe, and Mark was glad he had picked it. He walked along, grabbing nuts and assorted berries, until he came to a cliff overlooking the sea. Mark squinted across the water, and saw a number of large smudges. Muttering a few words, he released the Magic, using his new staff as an outlet, and an image formed in his mind's eye. It was somewhat murky, but Mark was able to make out, to his dismay, several large, armed ships filled to the brim with Goblins. Shocked, he dropped his half-eaten fruit and ran, heading towards the nearest town


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## allitersonance (Nov 9, 2008)

Fassar, now kneeling on the water with his eyes closed, felt some living being fall into the ocean. It seemed that they had gotten the message after all, but... only one? Well, it would do. The sacrifice plunged deeper into the water, finding himself unable to swim or float or do anything at all but flail weakly until he died.

It was only then that Fassar released his hold on the water, letting it calm down back to normal.

One sacrifice was pretty small for such a large fleet, but he let it pass - if only because he was rather curious about what they were doing. He would neither help nor harm them (unless he suddenly felt like doing so, some time in the future - but he had no intentions of either right now).

He didn't even know who these people crossing his ocean _were_, let alone what they wanted or their destination. Until he figured out how his wishes aligned with theirs, he wasn't going to do anything.


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## Elfin (Nov 10, 2008)

Acacia was soon bored, nothing seemed to be going on anywhere nearby. She pulled off a few thin ivy vines that had grown around her feet and jumped to the ground with a loud _thump_. A fall from that height would have killed a human, but she didn't have to worry about that. The spirit giggled and stepped back from the spot where she'd landed. Bright yellow flowers had appeared there in about a 1 foot by 1 foot area. 
"That seems to happen a lot. Hm. Pretty."
She laughed again and trotted happily down a small path through her woods, to her "home", which was really just a huge tree that was great for climbing and jumping from and swinging on thinner branches. Acacia was happy (as usual) but the day was too boring. She felt a bit lonely, but the feeling didn't last long.


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 10, 2008)

Trox watched, inwardly bored, as a small body plunged into the water. _Pah! Sacrifices..."_ he thought, _"How useless! Why would_ any _divine power, if one existed, care whether or not some Goblin child was killed in its name?_ Tox mocked the very idea of sacrifice. It was useless death to a child that, somehow, _might_ become marginally less weak than every other creature that existed. Besides Trox, of course.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark arrived at the small village that was closest to his small cottage. He ran to the town square, which, it being Market Day, was filled with people, and yelled, "Everybody! Goblins are mobilizing! Make sure that you're ready, because they might be coming here. Gather your valuables and make sure that you're prepared! Find a hiding place to go to if they invade!" The crowd stared at him for a few moments, and then they all ran in seperate directions, bumping and jostling. _Maybe that wasn't the best idea...._


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## shadow_lugia (Nov 11, 2008)

Moss flew above the mountains with her prey, a mountain goat, with big, curly horns. Instead of turning and flying off for her living cave (she has a seperate hidey hole for her hoard), she found a comfortable place beside a boulder and settled there, tearing open the goat and beginning to eat. This whole Goblin thing was too interesting.
In the meantime while they were still preparing to set off, she started digging in the rocks. To her delight, she found a black opal, which she considered among the highest class of gems.


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## Zeph (Nov 11, 2008)

_Thuh-plunk._

The first of the Gjashdian galleons threw down its anchor into the water, and a gangplank was set out. The Goblins loaded onto the ship scrambled out carelessly, pushing some into the water and trampling others as they went. The other ships followed, and soon the whole Goblin army was out. Finally, Hak's galleon - which had moved to the back for his own 'safety' - arrived, and the Sinister himself sneered down at the Elven army, who had just arrived from a bend in a mountain pass.

Brandhyr roared a command, but to the Elves it would have been incomprehensible. It sounded something like "_Gjashr - Graavniit!_", but in actuality, he was telling the Goblins to climb. And climb then did, charging at the slopes of Banari, grabbing onto protruding ledges and scurrying up the rock faces, each Goblin gaining his own position. The Elves looked up in apparent bewilderment - what was the point in this?

Then it became obvious.

A few Goblins had stayed on board one of the galleons, and were loading what appeared to be countless long, thin spikes into something similar to a large cannon. When there was no room left, the fuse was lit, and before the Elves had time to move, the spikes were blasted out, a cluster of impending death, rotating through the air towards them - 

Some Elves were killed upon impact, impaled gruesomely. Others were mortally wounded, but survived the attack. And it was then that the Goblins jumped into the ranks of beautiful Elves, hacking with their scimitars, stabbing with their pikes - yet they did not seem too interested in killing the elves. They just seemed to want to get through the blockage as soon and as efficiently as possible.

Hak tailed behind the rest, but he didn't really need any guards - one swing of his huge iron sword would send about ten Elves flying to the side - and to their deaths. He lumbered through the Elves almost lazily, swinging the longsword to and fro...


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 11, 2008)

Trox stabbed with his pike, impaling a particuarly tall Elf. He smashed the Elf's beautiful face in with his boot and cackled. He charged forward, stabbing at whatever Elf got in his way. _Hah! I'd like to see the Sinister himself do better!_


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 11, 2008)

((Two things: One, Kojol has never seen a Goblin ebfore, so those were the "strange creature", and two: ZC, what can the powers of Life do? I don't want to make it overpowering.

EDIT: IC deleted because I'd gotten mixed up about the two islands))


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## Zeph (Nov 11, 2008)

((ER - basically, they allow one to heal nearly any injury or illness, as well as 'creating' small plants and animals.))


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 11, 2008)

Zephyrous Castform said:


> ((ER - basically, they allow one to heal nearly any injury or illness, as well as 'creating' small plants and animals.))


"Creating" as in he could create an living being from an inanimate object?


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## Zeph (Nov 11, 2008)

((Yes, that's the idea.))


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## Elfin (Nov 11, 2008)

((Is anyone actually in Monari except me? Starting to regret having my character there.. :P))


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 11, 2008)

((Okay. Well in that case... to balance that out, I think the more he makes, or the bigger they are, the more power it takes for him to keep them going. That way, he won't be overpowering.))


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## Zeph (Nov 11, 2008)

((Mkay then.))

The Goblins tore their way through a small Elven village, ruthlessly killing any and all that stood in their way. They left many dead behind them - but still they were not done. Soon, some of the Goblins returned to the ships and set sail for Monari, while the rest spread out, covering sea-level Banari like a fungus in a matter of hours.


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 11, 2008)

((Oh, shoot. I jsut realized I'd made a huge mistake in my last IC post. (I thought the goblins were in Monari.)

*goes to edit))


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## Zeph (Nov 11, 2008)

((Sorry, I probably should've made it a little clearer.))


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 11, 2008)

Everyone in the village had hidden, whether it was in their basements or, in Mark's case, a large barrel. His knees aching, Mark went over his plan. Well, it wasn't a _plan_ really, more like a vague idea. Basically, he was going to hide in this barrel and hope Goblins didn't find him. Of course, Mark _did_ have a weapon, along with Magic, but he really wanted the Goblins to think this was a ghost town...


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## shadow_lugia (Nov 12, 2008)

Moss watched, half-interested, as the Goblins set off. When they were out of sight, she flew higher, abandoning the mountain goat- all that was left of it now was bones- and carrying her black opal in one front foot.
They landed in Banari and started to attack.
She had never really cared for Humans or Elves (or really any other species) in themselves, but they polished gems and could make them more lusturous. They could turn alexandrite from a cold, gray lump into a beautiful, sparkling gem that changed color: red-orange most of the time, and a deep blue, like a sapphire, when exposed to sunlight.
_The Goblins won't destroy them,_ she thought, _because I'll help. Maybe they'll even polish this black opal for me in their gratitude!_
Satisfied that it was worth it, she roared and launched herself in the air towards Banari.


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## Storm Earth and Fire (Nov 12, 2008)

Evoli said:


> ((Is anyone actually in Monari except me? Starting to regret having my character there.. :P))


((I am, even though my last post might indicate otherwise because I'm an idiot. :P))

Arjan got up and headed westward, towards the coastal town he originally came from. Getting into town, he headed towards his residence, a tidy little house that had a pretty good view of the sea. He fixed some tea and sat down, looking out a window that faced the coast. He could spot, barely so, a large island to the south of mainland Mideran, considered part of the draconic continent. He then looked around, and spotted what appeared to be very faraway ships.


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 12, 2008)

((I too am on Monari, but my stupid mistake earlier probably gave that away :sweatdrop:))

Kojol reached the village, and was surprised to find it mostly deserted.

_Where did everyone go? This doesn't look like a village that could've been abandoned for very long... right?

Well, it's not like anything could happen here that's important... right?_


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## Elfin (Nov 12, 2008)

((You are?! Whathewigetwflibflgksl AARRGH!! I need to pay more attention, I really do. ^^; Nothing is happening with my character because there's hardly anyone there. Jeez, Monari needs love too!_grumblegrumble_))
So much for the original plan of going home. The spirit was pretty far from where she usually was, now closer to the ocean. Maybe it _was_ time to move, after all. She looked at the different houses, wondering what was inside them. She'd never been in one, and only knew humans lived in them. She hummed softly and walked closer to one of them, glancing inside. It was relatively small compared to others she'd seen before. And there was a person inside. Oops. Acacia waved sheepishly and stepped away from the window. As a prank, she tapped the side of the house and created thin vines covering the door and windows to see what the human would do.


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## Storm Earth and Fire (Nov 12, 2008)

Arjan took his bow off his shoulder and took the string off. He sat back down, sipped his tea, and relaxed. Until he heard a tap, seemingly from nowhere. He got up go to the door. However, he noticed something amiss with one of the windows he walked past. Vines crawled across it at a rather unnatural rate. He said to himself, "Damn kids and their magic.", with a chuckle. He opened the door and looked around outside, but, finding nobody around, he went around the back. The back window was covered in vines. He swept and scraped with his sword, which got them off simply enough. Upon returning to the front door, he found it was teeming with life as well. He made a mental note to get that checked out and headed back inside.


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## allitersonance (Nov 12, 2008)

It was only when they disembarked that Fassar realised that they were, in fact, goblins; he could've checked before, any time while he followed them, but he hadn't wanted to. Watching them slaughter the much more beautiful elves, those like his current form, he decided he should've. Then he wouldn't have let them pass so easily.

He didn't like ugly things, and liked them even less when they destroyed something beautiful. He could not deny that blood and slaughter had its own beauty, but that it was goblins slaughtering elves and not the other way around...

The sea churned.

Now, there were some goblins returning to the ships... he could either destroy those or attack the ones on land, but doing both would be difficult. The boats, he decided, as they were already in his grasp. And there wouldn't be as many elves on the boats.

To get a full view of the slaughter, he'd had to approach shore, and was standing not two metres from land - but it wouldn't lessen his power. He turned around, glaring at the ships.

Perhaps they'd think him some elven mage. That was just as well.

A mound of water rose on one side of the ships, the side where it seemed most were boarding. He had no lack of volume of water at the ocean, but it was more difficult gathering it where he wanted it to go when the water was shallower than out on the open sea.


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## Darksong (Nov 12, 2008)

((I'm on Monari, and so is Cryptica.))

Firesong immediately fell asleep, unaware of everything around her. 

She dreamed of the night sky. The beautiful night sky...

And Phantom. He was wheeling uncontrollably in the air, and he crashed into Firesong, who had been trying to stop him.

Well, at least she had stopped him.

Both fell to the ground, and a few minutes later, Firesong woke up.


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 12, 2008)

Phantom followed suit to Firesong.

His sleep was dreamless, and he wouldn't awaken until morning.

Well, not exactly dreamless.

He was inside some sort of gigantic structure built of sandstone. It had four rooms, each very large. They were arranged in a square shape. Sand-colored statues of humans stood in three of them, and in the final one there was a statue of him. It had a round head and horn-like tufts of feathers, along with round, unblinking eyes. Its chest was puffed up in leadership, and its huge, round wings were folded tightly against its body.

Phantom flew up to it and perched on its shoulder, toes curved around the large bump. He could feel grooves with his talons, perfect for him to use to grip the stone. He did so, and stared at the side of the statue's head.

Suddenly, it moved. It turned its head to look him straight in the eye. Just one of its pupils was almost as big as he was.

"Hello," it boomed. "Statues are irrelevant to the current topic... now. What shall I do for you... how about _assassination?_"

Suddenly, his claws felt like they were being wrenched out of the grooves. He was shoved forward, and almost turned upside down. His talons felt like they were going to be ripped out with a cackling laugh, and then--

--Phantom woke up, chest heaving with anxious breaths.


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## PichuK (Nov 12, 2008)

Kerserth watched quietly as the goblins sent out ships to Modari. She didn't feel like interrupting the mass slaughter, but the ugly faces of the Goblins made her flinch, and  their ruthless and brutish tactics made her cringe. She began to reconsider -- Humans never really bothered her, the were fun to play with, they had very nice scenery...
They wouldn't shoot a lone phoenix down.
_That would be very annoying,_ she thought, _if I was shot at every month. Yes._

She looked up again to see that the sea had changed very suddenly, from pretty calm to rough and dangerous. Either a spirit or a very powerful mage, though she wasn't sure which. She decided that aiding the forces of Monari and Banari for now would be the best course of action. 

She became enraged. The concept of anyone attacking or even attempting to attack her current home finally sunk in, and with a a wild caw, she pushed an extremely strong gust of wind in the general direction of the ships. She hoped to break a mast, not caring much for anyone caught in the gust.


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## Zeph (Nov 12, 2008)

Some of the Goblins began to shout and yet as a cast wave rose up behind their galleons. Some, foolishly, ran to hit below-decks, while others tumbled across to the other side of the ships. From there, they saw, standing a short distance from the beach, what appeared to be an Elf, staring with intense anger at their boats.

Instinctively, the Goblins began to attack, throwing their pikestaffs across the water, but they fell short. Then some took up their bows and began to shoot jagged arrows at the Elf.

Ξ​
Meanwhile, the Goblins still on land had set up various well-hidden camps, some in dark caves, others in secluded forest groves - one was even inside an old, abandoned mansion they had found. Even Goblins needed their sleep every now and then, and like this it would seem as if they had just disappeared from Banari.

In one of the camps, which was inside a mountain trench, there was only one Goblin still awake - Hak. No, he was not on guard - how preposterous for the Sinister to take up such a mundane duty as guard? No, he was merely planning tactics for the rest of their 'stay' on Banari. Truth be told, he hadn't thought much about _how_ they would do it, merely _what_ they'd be doing.

He looked up at the sky. From Banari, one had an almost perfect view of the night sky, strewn with sparkling stars of every colour and brightness - absolutely disgusting. He had always hated how those stupid little lights interrupted the otherwise perfect darkness of night. Far too many of them.


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## Elfin (Nov 12, 2008)

That was fun. Acacia giggled and decided to take her prank a step further. Her human form wavered and dissipated into a brown and green mist, then went invisible. She moved through the wall of the house, which was easy without a body. She chose a spot directly in front of the human (so he would have to notice it) and began. The vines from earlier snaked under the door and stopped directly in front of him in a tangled knot. For good measure, a flower with multicolored petals (That she was pretty sure didn't exist until just then) appeared on the tangled vines.
_Lets see how long it takes you to realize it's not a child doing this, human or otherwise. Hehe!_


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 13, 2008)

Mark looked through a knothole in the barrel, and saw a person walk into the town. He checked around, and deemed that nobody else was in sight. Mark raised his head, and said to the person, "Please be quiet. Goblins are coming, and we're hoping they'll think this is a ghost town. You yourself might want to hide..."


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 13, 2008)

((I assume that's Kojol, Blastoise))


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 13, 2008)

(Yep)


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 13, 2008)

Kojol saw a someone come from a nearby barrel, and caught the word 'Goblin"

_Goblin... funny, it doesn't _sound_ dangerous. How bad could they be?_

Uninterested in what this being was saying, he amused himself by making one of the barrels come to life and walk around.


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## shadow_lugia (Nov 13, 2008)

(Shortpost is short for reasons specified at end D:)

Moss landed on the northern shore of Banari. She roared, louder this time, and thumped her tail menacingly against the ground.

(I can't tell if the Goblins are at the northern shore or the eastern shore or what, so uh could I get help please?)


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## Zeph (Nov 13, 2008)

shadow_lugia said:


> (I can't tell if the Goblins are at the northern shore or the eastern shore or what, so uh could I get help please?)


((They've spread out across Banari and made small, hidden camps. Some of them are currently trying to sail to Monari.))


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## Leviathan (Nov 13, 2008)

In the time it took for Kelras to rematerialize, he had begun to go over how he would be spending the rest of the day, however little light was left in the sky. After the riot over taking that priest's book he probably shouldn't set foot in _that_ village for a while; just another human establishment to add to his slowly growing blacklist. Many Elven and Pixie libraries had found a way to block out his teleportation by now, so that eliminated all of the interesting options right away. Dragon script gave his mortal form a headache whenever he tried to read it, Trolls didn't even have any real books to speak of, and the Phoenixes generally ignored all of his efforts to speak with them. That only left Goblins...

Conveniently, as the thought crossed his mind, he finally popped back into existence in his shelter only to see a troop of the green-skinned buggers scuttling around the room, tearing apart his belongings and the piles of books he had spent so long meticulously organizing and reorganizing; this was _not_ going to go unpunished. With his arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently, he said in a very authoritative drawl, "So what exactly are we doing here?"

((Short post is short. I didn't know if I could control the Goblins (coughkillthemcough).))

((Also, for any who may be concerned, Jinzen is still in the same place where I left him last post; I couldn't think of anything to do with him.))


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## allitersonance (Nov 13, 2008)

Of course, many of the archers would barely manage to shoot an arrow before the wave rose over their ships and smashed them, and throwing the devastated ships into the ones beside them, and smashing those in turn. This, of course, would hardly stop the arrows, and wounds were painful and ugly; making delicate gestures with his hands, he gathered the water and twirled on the spot.

Water would hardly make a good _wall_ against the arrows, if used in an attempt to block them directly - although it could certainly make things difficult. But a force crashing into the arrows from the side would divert them nicely. Water leapt and swirled around him, a raging cyclone only empowered by the movement water itself, rather than the wind carrying it.

But the sudden, unexpected gust tore the protective stream of water from its path, throwing it into him with enough force to knock over even his more graceful elven form. But it, too, blasted the arrows, sending them spinning into the water.

Getting to his feet, Fassar looked around for the source - but saw nothing. Another spirit, perhaps (there was at least one spirit near, he knew, though he rarely paid attention to them), or an elven mage. He commanded the water away from his hair and clothing with a flick of his hands, and turned back to the boats.

The water, still churning, rose once more, this time on the opposite side of the galleons.

They were not going to escape.


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## Zeph (Nov 14, 2008)

"Abandon attempts to attack it," called a high-ranking Goblin, "Just sail away as fast as possible!"

They tried to move, they really did - but the constant onslaught of water kept pushing them off-course, smashing them into eachother brutally.

It was lucky that three of the Seven Sinister Sorcerers were on board.

They calmly approached the side of their boat in unison and looked the Elf by the beach right in the eye. They began to twirl and gesture on the spot, chanting ancient, powerful words into the night. They finished the spell by thrusting their palms towards the Elf and emphasising the final word, and a sudden burst of deep violet energy rushed towards the Elf. If the spell hit, the Elf would be completely paralysed where he stood.

---

Meanwhile, some of the other Goblins had ran into a problem. What appeared to be an Elf had just materialised into the room. It said something in the language of the Elves, Old Nisdhata - but the Goblins spoke only a modified version of the language, Grey Nisdhata. The languages had some traits in common, but otherwise the Goblins didn't have the faintest idea what the Elf had just said. They laughed amongst themselves and began to converse rapidly, mocking the Elf and doing crude impressions of Old Nisdhata.


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## Leviathan (Nov 14, 2008)

Kelras had forgotten about the impediments of his Elven body, that he was limited to the tongues of this race, one which the Goblins had given up many centuries ago. Not that it was the most important factor in the current situation, but oh well.

So now the little imps were trying to make fun of him; probably not the wisest decision, considering he had just given them an opportunity to escape. It was a shame that he'd still have to clean this place up after everything was said and done.

A flash of light spread out from the Spirit, consuming the still-laughing Goblins in a sphere of blue energy. Although it only lasted a brief moment, the cave was gone when the field disappeared, replaced by the bleeding reds, oranges, and yellows of the sky, the hard rock surface of Banari far, far below. They remained there, suspended in the air, for a while, Kelras holding the assembly in place until they realized the severity of this change of events.


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## Elfin (Nov 16, 2008)

((Hey, link008. I can't post until you do something. D:))


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 17, 2008)

((and I can't post until Blastoise428 does something. Why's nobody psoting here?))


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 17, 2008)

((Sorry. Braindead))

Mark blinked. Amazing! This person was making life itself. He must have been very well versed in magic... Or maybe one of those spirits he had read about in an Elven library...
"You. Are you a spirit?" said Mark, his voice quavering a bit.


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 17, 2008)

Kojol turned to look at the being.

_Spirit? What's a spirit?_

He looked at himself. His hands.

_Is that what... I'm known as? What I and others- if there are others- like me are called._

He dispelled his pwoer, and the barrel stopped moving.

_Maybe this being knows something about me that I am unable to find out... perhaps I should stay here for a while..._


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 17, 2008)

"Look, if you don't hide, or disappear, or whatever, all the people in this town are going to get killed by the Goblins." Mark said.


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 17, 2008)

_What this being says makes no sense,_ Kojol thought, _Why would I, a... "Spirit" cause anyone to get killed? As long as nobody tries to take the staff...

Unless it's the staff these "Goblins" are after. In which case, they throw away their lives... right?_

He began to look around the village, looking for a sign of these Goblin creatures


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## Storm Earth and Fire (Nov 17, 2008)

The ships were suddenly swamped by great waves, almost unnatural waves. They began to list and sink. However, as Arjan watched the scene from afar, a verdant mass lurched up and formed a knotted mess in front of him. A lovely flower sprouted. 
He slapped a hand on his forehead in annoyance, and sighed, "Back to Mideran I go, all right.", as he headed back to the table by the back window.


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## Zeph (Nov 17, 2008)

((To the water spirits - Please refrain from sinking _all_ the ships. It's important that at least _some_ get to Monari. Sorry for not telling you earlier.))


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 18, 2008)

"Okay, I am going to make this as easy to understand as possible," said Mark, talking as if to a rather slow child. "The people in this town are hiding in various places. They are hiding because a mean army of ugly creatures called Goblins are coming to this island. If the Goblins don't see any signs of life in this town, we are hoping that they will leave us alone. If the Goblins see you standing there, or anyone for that matter, they will attack us and most likely kill all of us in the process."


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## Exo-Raikou (Nov 18, 2008)

_Kill... I wonder why that would be?

Still, if what this being says is true, then I should perhaps find some way to hide._

He decided to do this by bringing the barrel from before to life, and then making it move so that it would block him from view.


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## Elfin (Nov 18, 2008)

Acacia reappeared in her human form, giggling impishly. She snapped her fingers, and the mass of vines disappeared. She picked up the flower, admiring the different colors. She looked innocently at the human and asked in a hurt voice,
"But don't you like plants? I think they were pretty."
She didn't quite seem to realize or care she probably shouldn't be in somebody's house.


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## Blastoise Fortooate (Nov 21, 2008)

_Finally, he cooperates!_ Mark thought, lowering his head back into the barrel. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trox trudged through the clearing, resisting the urge to shield his sensitive eyes from the sun. That would show weakness, which was a quality he couldn't show, because nothing about him was weak.


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## Zeph (Nov 25, 2008)

The Goblins who had been teleported into the sky all yelled and screamed as they fell, plummeting towards the sea like cannonballs tied to bags of bricks lines with bowling balls. They hit the sea in almost perfect unison, creating a tumultuous _splash_ that muffled all other sound for miles around and sprayed the land nearby.

Of course, they all drowned almost immediately.

---

The next morning, as the sun dawned, illuminated Monari and Banari in curtains of golden light, the Goblins began to wake. Those who stayed asleep were prodded and roughly shaken by their peers, until each and every Goblin was ready to continue their attack.

Each group left their camps and began to work their ways to their planned assembly point, where all the Goblins would meet and re-form the army. The aforementioned rendezvous just happened to be a wide, barren field at the bottom of the mountain, devoid of all plant life yet filled with strange, creepy creatures that flitted across the corners of your eyes, never truly revealing themselves.

The Goblins arrived, and began to set up their camps again, closer to each other this time, arranged in concentric circles surrounding the central one which, of course, was where Hak was.

After a while, there was laughter and uproar. A small Elf had approached the camps. The Goblins close to the Elf aimed their bows, malicious expressions on their faces, but a voice cut over them.

"Leave him. Look, he carries a scroll, he must be bringing a message."

Sinister Hak pushed through the crowds of Pawns and without a word snatched the letter from the Elf's slender hand. The Elf looked terrified and bewildered, partly at Hak and partly at the strange, ugly language they were speaking in. He quickly read it and sneered, then turned around to face his army, reading it aloud in a nasty, sneering voice.

"_Dear Sinister Hak,

It has come to my attention that you have arrived on Banari, and according to an outside source your intention is to attack my race and I. I would like to bring to your attention the Note of Banishment your people accepted many years ago. If you do not leave these islands within a day, I will be forced to come and find you myself.

Yours sincerely,

High-Elder Draxysa of the Elven Tribes of Leiarna._"

The Goblins fell about, choking in hysterics, and Hak scribbled a reply on the back of the letter, throwing it at the Elf messenger who abruptly ran off into the woods.

"_We will find you tonight._"


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 25, 2008)

Phantom's eyes opened. He looked down over the ground. He had been roosting in a tree, in one of the higher branches. He stretched his wings and alighted from the limb, beginning his morning sun dance.


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## Darksong (Nov 25, 2008)

Firesong looked up at Phantom. He was doing some kind of move... a sun dance, maybe? Perhaps she could join him?

Carefully, she soared up to him, but didn't say anything. She just looked at the phoenix.


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## Elfin (Nov 25, 2008)

((Having a stupid moment. Have the goblins arrived at Monari yet? I think some were already there, but not the ones Link008 was mentioning... sorry, I'm confused. :sweatdrop:))


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 25, 2008)

Phantom looked backwards at Firesong, and continued. He did some flips and barrel rolls, flying what one would call "dangerously high" and close to the sun.


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## allitersonance (Nov 25, 2008)

Fassar called the water again to form a spinning, deflecting wall between him and the spell being thrown at him, intending to block it like he had with the arrows... but magic didn't _quite_ work like physical projectiles did, especially if it wasn't intending to just throw a physical-like force at him. Though the water-wall may have had some effect on the spell, the purple energy passed through it and struck his elven body. Immediately Fassar found himself immobile, stuck in the awkward position with his arm half-stretched out and one foot above the water.

... well.

They could limit his physical body, perhaps, but not his control over the water, so the waves continued to assault them. They were just much smaller and weaker, and would only make it uncomfortable and harder to keep balance, rocking the boats but probably not damaging them unless the goblins had never encountered rough seas before. Normal storms could get much more dangerous than this. And unlike the current situation, the waves in a storm generally hit more than one boat at a time.

The tameness of the water was mainly due to the fact that he was devoting most of his energy to leaving this pesky, paralysed body and attempting to return to his spirit form, to escape the spell's effect. It was more difficult when paralysed, strangely, but he wanted escape from the discomfort more than he wanted to keep this form.

Besides, he could avenge himself _so_ much better when he wasn't limited by a physical body and all of its flaws and weaknesses.

It was harder than he thought, though, and he absentmindedly let the seas calm to their normal level so he could focus. It shouldn't matter if they left while he extracted himself from this body, he thought, because there was no escape from a spirit as powerful as he was.

Shame that they could probably escape far from his current location by the time he managed, though.


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## shadow_lugia (Nov 25, 2008)

Moss buried her black opal and marked the spot with a twig with a single leaf, to keep it from getting scratched or otherwise damaged.
She thought she saw a Goblin camp in the distance, so she set off in that direction, refreshed from her long night's sleep.


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## Darksong (Nov 25, 2008)

Firesong flew higher, towards the sun (hoorah) and towards Phantom. Finally, she had the courage to ask... "What are you doing?"

((Just wondering. Do phoenixes have fire on their plumage?))


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 25, 2008)

((yay!))

Phantom looked down at her while flying upside down. "Sun dance. What would we do if we had no sun, no life? We wouldn't exist, that's what."


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## Darksong (Nov 26, 2008)

"What does it do?"

"C-can I j-join you?" she stuttered.


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 26, 2008)

"Nothing but make us glad the sun is here to warm us and make us live," he answered, flipping upright again. "Why not?" He flapped his wings a few times. Hard.


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## Darksong (Nov 26, 2008)

"Um... o-okay..."

Nervously, Firesong shuddered in midair. She began to do some tiny maneuvers, then began doing a few flips and things. Shyly, she sang a song that she had composed a while ago. It was a sun song, coincidentally.


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## Zeph (Nov 26, 2008)

Darksong said:


> ((Just wondering. Do phoenixes have fire on their plumage?))


((All phoenixes are different, so it's your choice.))

The three of the Seven had been successful. The strange Elf had been frozen, and the unnatural waves had calmed to a halt. The ships continued their journey around the north side of Banari, and soon enough, after they had passed the gap between Banari and Gjashdil, they could see Monari in the distance. Far from that strange beach with the magical Elf, the Goblins could finally relax for the last leg of their journey.

---

The messenger returned to Draxysa. He quickly glanced at the reply, and he bowed his head. "I knew this day would come," he muttered, "They were bound to try and come back one day,  but that they would do it in such a violent way..."

He sighed angrily and turned on the spot, running into a different room, one with a large, intricately detailed map carved onto a circular table, hewn out of a tree stump.

"I suppose I should have suspected nothing less from Hak," he breathed, placed little golden markers on certain points on the map. He put one on fort Kazros, another at the place the Goblins had assembled, the third on his location at the moment and the final one in the sea between Monari and Banari. The messenger tentatively watched, wondering what the High-Elder was doing.


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## Darksong (Nov 26, 2008)

((I always imagine them like that, so I guess Firesong does.)) Mostly on her wings and head, but some on her tail. Kind of like Moltres, but not quite. I'll draw an image of her soon.))

Firesong continued to sing, now slightly hoping to catch Phantom's attention.


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 26, 2008)

Phantom looked to the side, listening to Firesong sing. "I sound terrible," he said.


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## Elfin (Nov 26, 2008)

"I like your house. I'm going home now. Bye-bye!"
Acacia curtsied and left the house, humming cheerfully. She decided to go to closer to the ocean. She ran the the beach, her bare feet covered in sand. 
"What's that? Ducks? They're big."
Far off in the distance, she could see huge... somethings coming closer. The spirit waved and screamed hello to the giant ducks.

((They're actually the Goblin ships, but she's spent almost her whole existence in a forest near a village, and doesn't know what ships or Goblins are.))


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## Darksong (Nov 27, 2008)

"What do you mean? Your singing?" Firesong asked after finishing her song. Hopefully, the sun would gaze down upon them for years to come.


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 27, 2008)

Phantom nodded solemnly.

((Short post D:))


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## Darksong (Nov 27, 2008)

"Well, not all phoenixes are good at singing," Firesong said, suddenly spiraling down on purpose. She landed gracefully, though, and sat hidden in a tree's close branches.


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## Mad MOAI (Nov 27, 2008)

Phantom got an idea from Firesong. He swooped down in a loose spiral, and pulled up the moment before he reached the ground in a near upside-down acsent.


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## Zeph (Dec 3, 2008)

"Advisor, what is that at the bottom of the mountain?"

An old man stepped past King Leion and peered out of the stained-glass window that faced south, which was decorated with the emblem of Crownpoint, the human region in which the castle resided.

"Well, I can see a large moving group of what appears to be..." the advisor gasped and stumbled backwards. "Your majesty, there is an army of Goblins at the bottom of Mount Banari." he continued, trying and failing to stay calm.

Leion cursed loudly and un-Kingly, and quickly crossed the room, jumping halfway down a staircase and sprinting the rest. He ran down corridors, threw open heavy wooden doors, until he came to a small room that was directly under the Throne Room. He pushed open the double doors opposite him and came out onto a balcony which looked south. The advisor's observations were correct. He could see, quite clearly, the emblem of Fort Kazros printed onto various large banners that the group of Goblins were holding.

The advisor came into the room, out of breath and wheezing.

"Advisor, inform everyone of these Goblins. Tell the army to get to the barracks, as soon as possible.

The adviser nodded and took out a small roll of parchment and a quill, on which he wrote a short message detailing the whereabouts of the Goblins and the proposed rendezvous. He held up a large jar and, after rolling up the message, dropped it into the jar. It immediately disappeared when it was fully inside the jar, but that was intended, for a perfect copy of the letter would now magically appear in the message-jars that every Human soldier possessed.


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